The Galapagos Islands are probably the most famous wildlife-watching destination in the world. And no wonder - it's almost impossible to exaggerate the sheer spectacle of the place that provided inspiration for Charles Darwin's ground-breaking theory of natural selection.

— Mark Carwardine 

… by far the most remarkable feature in the natural history of this archipelago, is that the different islands to a considerable extent are inhabited by a different set of beings …

— The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin

The Galapagos Islands, which were accidentally discovered in 1535 by the Bishop of Panama, are six hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador.  Some of the islands are above the equator while others are below it.  They sit in the crossroads of three major ocean currents that have differing temperatures and nutrients.  There are 13 major islands, the largest of which is about 1,700 square miles and represents about half the land mass of the entire archipelago.  There are six smaller islands and many islets and rocks.  The islands were formed from lava.

In 1835, Darwin observed that the animals on the three islands he visited differed not only from each other but also from the animals in South America from which the original inhabitants of the Galapagos presumably came.  These astute observations, which he made at the young age of 22, inspired his famous theory of the adaptation and evolution of species through natural selection.

The archipelago is justifiably famous for its unusual animal life, with an extraordinary range of subspecies, as well as for how close the animals allow humans to approach them.  As there are few large predators, the local animals feel safe in the presence of humans.

“Galapagos” comes from a Spanish word that means tortoise or saddle; the latter describes tortoises due to the shape of their shells.  There are many sea and land species of tortoises (about 49) in the Galapagos.  The largest species can grow to over 500 pounds and can live in captivity for 100 to 250 years.  “Lonesome George”, who lived to over 100 and was thought to be the last of the Pinta Island species, died in 2012, not long after our visit.  This gallery has a photo of him at the Charles Darwin Research Station.

Other photos capture examples of just a few of the over 9,000 animal species in the archipelago.  Remarkably, roughly 80% of the land birds and 97% of the reptiles in the Galapagos are native to the archipelago and are not found anywhere else.  

The Galapagos also offers many unusual and beautiful land and sea scenes to enjoy and photograph. It is a remarkable place.  Fortunately, the Ecuador government has taken steps to preserve the Galapagos and it is also protected, for example, as an UNESCO Natural Heritage Site.